Beautiful Melody: Heart's Miracle
by He-Jay
Summary: You taught me to smile, to laugh, and sing with your joy. That's why…you know what? This is based on Rin & Len's "Kokoro Kiseki", so just listen to the song.
1. Can there be a Miracle?

**Warning:** This is an **AU** story, one of those modern-time **songfic**s with Elsword characters. This may not appeal to you, and if you do not like it, my servants Alt & F4 will readily escort you out.

Based on **Kokoro Kiseki (****ココロ****・****キセキ****)** by Vocaloids Kagamine Rin & Len. There is another Elsword Fanfiction based on this song by someone called **Awesomeness02**, and I will ensure that the plot's different, characters are different, everything.

It's a Japanese song, I am aware. But no Japanese words; only English and yes, Korean, because I can.

* * *

Raven was a man barely in his twenties, yet everyone looked to him with respect, awe, and a touch of envy. Genius; that was what he was. A distinguished man, he had everything most people could only dream of: youth, wealth, brilliant intellect, and all the wonderful qualities known to man. Perhaps the only flaw was his prosthetic arm, his real one being lost in an accident eons ago, yet the mechanical arm only served to heighten his intelligence, his looks.

But right now, that meant nothing, nothing at all. In the end, what were they?

How would it feel, holding the hand of the one you loved the most as she lay dying?

"You shouldn't be so harsh on the doctors, Raven." Her other hand, withered and skeletal, feebly touched his arm. "You know they only mean the best."

Cold. Basic. Sterile. Orderly. They were words that described the room they were in, the entire hospice. The walls, the tiled floor, the sheets, the clothes, everything was white, but it convened a chilly feeling. It was clean, yet it still felt dirty. There was plenty of room to move about, but nowhere to get comfortable. Even the fluorescent lights shone harshly, the strong light doing little to dispel the tension and the chaos that swirled in his heart.

"Let's not think about that now. Do you need anything? Should I prop the pillows for you?"

She nodded, for the same reason she had asked for the water, because she understood his need to do something for her, however trivial. Turning her head aside, she coughed, then sighed as they passed.

He held her hand close. "I promised I'd take care of you, and I thought...I thought I could, thought I could keep you safe, make it up to you for—"

"Shh." she said, "You did, you truly did. All I've known of happiness...came from you, Raven." She was interrupted by a series of coughs, but remained steady. "Everyone has so many regrets, too many things that they wish they'd done differently. But you should have no such regrets for us...never for us."

"Seris..." He brought her hand up to his mouth, held it against his cheek. He bowed his head so that she could no longer see his face, but she felt tears on her hand. She tugged weakly at his sleeve, willing him to look up.

"Raven, please...listen to me. The song we sang together. Promise you'll try to believe in...The words...you must never forget that. Do you...remember?"

_I hope I could teach you to know_

_Happiness, sadness, in this beautiful world_

"How could I forget?" He tried for a smile. "You're the one that taught me everything, Seris. The first woman I cared for, you showed me the songs, joy, happiness..."

_From now on those memories live in my heart_

_I can say now..._

_**...But the words do not come.**_

"Our song…keep it with you, please."

* * *

"I know how you feel, Professor Raven." As the cemetery slowly emptied, Raven nodded in absentminded thanks to the last straggler. "Take comfort in knowing that Lady Seris is in a better place. My prayers go with you."

Like the rest of the mourners, their condolences and offerings of prayer meant nothing to Raven. It just went in one ear and out the other. They probably didn't care for her; they only came to the funeral for his sake, because who would dare dishonour the most renowned scientist in all of Velder by not attending his fiancée's funeral?

As soon as she was out the door, he shut the gates and turned to the casket, which held the most important person to him, now dead. Standing in front of him were the three people that truly cared for Seris as much as for him.

"Hey, Chief…" His colleague, a fellow scientist that specialized in mechanics and technology, laid a supportive arm on the bent shoulder. "I'm…I'm so sorry for your loss. I wish I could…"

"I appreciate it, Chung." Raven replied, not looking him in the eye. These people actually cared for himself rather than their reputation; in some weird, twisted way, it hurt a lot more; he was surrounded by true mourners. His eyes kept going to the casket, hoping that she'd just come out, laughing and singing as she always did. It was a vain hope, yet like a child, he still clung to it.

"Chief." Another hand clamped Raven's other shoulder, every bit as supportive as Chung. He opened his mouth as if to say more, then closed it. Elsword was never a talker, but he let his hand stay on the shoulder, silently offering his comfort. "Just…we're…here, if you need us."

His purple-haired girlfriend's face was streaked with tears. Aisha and Seris had been good friends, and the loss shook her almost as much as Raven. She too looked like she wanted to say something, but only choked sobs escaped her throat as she stepped forward and hugged the broken man she loved like a brother. For once, Elsword didn't mind the least that his lover was embracing another man; he needed it.

Raven felt his arms going around the girl, but for Elsword's sake, made the contact very brief. After a few moments, he passed the sobbing girl to Elsword, who embraced the redhead, weeping as words came: "Why? Why is it always the good people?"

With an apologetic nod, Elsword walked out as he soothed Aisha. Chung also left with a final pat and sad glance at the coffin.

Aisha was right: Why was it always the people that deserved to stay in this world taken first? With only the emotionless, frosty wind to keep him company now, he fell to his knees and cried openly as he finally faced the cold, hard truth: he was alone. The joyous melodies and songs of the past were gone.

All alone.

But maybe…?

* * *

It was a sunless morning, as if the sky was still mourning the death of Seris. In a small café just around the corner, people chatted as they ate breakfast, the warm lights giving a cozy atmosphere. By the window, two men talked in hushed whispers as a pretty black-haired waitress danced around the room in a bright orange oriental uniform.

"It's been several weeks. How's the Chief?" Elsword inquired, stirring his drink. "I barely see him outside; you always work with him, Chung."

"Used to," the blonde scientist corrected. "I see him hunched over his lab, burying himself in work. That's how he copes with it, I guess."

"Chief Raven," the redhead settled back, sighing deeply. "At twenty, he's already a Chief Veteran Commander of Velder. He has everything a man can possibly have, but now…"

"All the titles and fame meant nothing to him," Chung reminded, spreading liberal amounts of butter on his bagel. "Seris was the only thing that ever mattered, and now she's gone." He drank a portion of his tea with a large gulp, an action that he regretted immediately. "Ow! Hot, hot!"

"Hm…" Immersed in thought, the redhead took no notice of his friend's discomfort as he sipped his coffee. When he looked up, he asked, "Hey, Chung, what have you been doing lately?"

"Well," He fanned his mouth, trying to cool his tongue, "Mostly the usual stuff, alchemy, artillery, etc. Being a Tactical Trooper isn't easy, after all." Looking around, he lowered his voice, "You know the project I only showed you and the Chief? Project CBS-011EVE, remember?"

"What—oh." On cue, Elsword also spoke barely above a whisper. "Is it almost done?"

"Yeah, I just need to complete the last coding and activate it. But Raven's been looking at it a lot lately." His 'ears' twitched. "As if…as if he's staring at a real person."

"He's probably a bit loose since Seris died. It's only an android…" Elsword continued sipping his coffee.

"…that looked like a real person and can be shaped into anyone and anything. What if Raven—Seris—robot?"

He faltered as he put the facts together. "Shit, you don't think he's—?"

"No…Chief wouldn't be that stupid...right?"

* * *

Had it been days? Weeks? Decades?

He looked into the capsule, which held a tall, silver-haired girl-like creature immersed in a translucent blue liquid with numerous wires sprouting from the sides of head. Chung was a real genius, to have copied the anatomy of a human so perfectly into this android. No wonder he kept it from the public eye, even from other scientists except for him and Elsword; they would soon be clamouring for the plans and possible thievery and complications would arise.

But Chung was an alchemist and specialized in weaponry. CBS-011EVE seemed very humanoid, but there were telltale signs that gave it away, such as the ear mechanisms, the blue stripes that adorned each cheek that served as energy patches, and just the overall look of it. It just looked so…robotic. Empty.

For the first time since the death, Raven's mind began to work furiously as he began to think. What if he could…what if he could make another robot? A completely new one, of course; Chung's project was Chung's project. But could he? At this rate, where he was inwardly drowning in grief and loneliness, he was willing to try anything. A robot, that was real. A robot, that would look like her, _be her_…

After a hasty check to make sure nobody was nearby, he jammed his mechanical arm into the data output processor; one of the many perks in having a mechanically advanced prosthetic arm was that it could store a considerable amount of technological data without the system ever knowing that it had been tampered.

**System successfully unlocked. Files of Project ANDROID CBS-011EVE being copied. Duration: 75 seconds for total data.**

**Related files searched: ANDROID-0594, ANDROID-9025, ANDROID-2651, ANDROID-0738, ANDROID-1376…**

**All ANDROID files requested. Confirmation?**

**Confirmation finalized. All data being submitted. Pending…**

**3…**

**2…**

**1…**

**Command completed. All files of ANDROID and CBS-011EVE copied.**

The rest of the notes were handwritten by Chung, but Raven only quickly sifted through them before arranging them back in his drawers, arranging them so it looked like no one had seen it. A photographic memory was just another one of his many gifts…

"Wait for me, Seris." He murmured before exiting the door, his heart alight with a scared kind of hope. Dashing into his house, he rushed into his basement, where his private laboratory was waiting for him.

"We'll be together again, I promise."

* * *

And that's it, for now. I'd write more, but eh…not sure if this would be received well. If this is plagiarizing someone else's work, I'll delete it immediately. Although, I'll admit, the plot's really predictable…I don't know if I should continue this :S


	2. Pre-Miracle

He feared her.

No, that wasn't right. Rather, he feared to forget her. Her golden hair that flew about her like woven gold, her soft skin that threatened to break at the slightest exposure to the elements, her smile that outshone the brightest of stars, and her voice.

She loved to sing.

Her voice...what was her voice like?

_The wings over the lake of silver  
I pray to thee,  
That you will take me away from here..._

On his rare days off from work, they would sit together, and talk to trivial and important matters, argue about whose turn it was to do the cleaning, laugh about what had happened during their time apart, but Raven and Seris were the happiest when they would sing. In the beginning, it was usually Seris that sang, urging an initially reluctant Raven to sing along with her and feel the joys of song. Soon enough, however, their voices perfectly matched in harmony, singing songs that would bring the birds to shame and the kingdom's minstrels to tears. Still, Raven loved it best when he would sit and listen to his angel.

_Often in the wistful nights,  
Before sleep comes I see,  
Sweet memories bring warm lights  
Of other days around me._

She sang many songs. Some songs she only remembered fragments, the rest forever lost in the folds of Time; others she remembered all twelve verses by heart. Sometimes they didn't make sense to the common ears, but he would often praise her music, commenting that she must have been gifted with the voice of an angel. Then she would blush and lightly rap him over the head.

Sometimes on special days (or when she in a particularly joyful mood), her eyes would sparkle as she reached towards the top right-hand shelf for a small brown chest with an engraving of a tree branch at the front. With extreme care, she would gently open the lid, revealing a beautiful, hand-crafted lyre made of yew and encrusted with golden floral designs. An heirloom, she would pick out melodies and sing in an ethereal voice that would entrance all those near her. One song grew to a hymn, to a ballad, and it seemed there was never enough time for every song.

_Oh come away, I say...  
A home on the rolling deep,  
The mermaid shake their tails  
And tears roll down their cheeks...  
Will they sing to you and me?_

Now there was all the time, but with no one to play. Or sing. Only the distant echos of a melody would resound within his dreams, but that was only that; an echo. They were scattered, like pieces of glass. One song fragment after another.

_There is a land of golden suns  
Far, far away..._

Nobody played the yew lyre anymore. Just like everything else, it lay in its case, abandoned, forgotten, gathering particles of cold dust.

* * *

"_Seris! Come back!"_

Sleep had become an ordeal for Raven.

Every time he closed his eyes, he could see her, fading bit by bit, from his mind. For all the technological gear and advanced machinery he had, he only had a small picture that reminded him of his dead fiancée, a small image with edges frayed with time that fit the palm of his hand. He didn't dare step outside aside from work and necessities lest he break down again. In the streets, to see a woman with blonde hair was a hurt almost beyond his strength. Once he walked past a garden filled with Lilies of the Valley, their colours ranging from shining ivory to tinted pink and lavender. The flower that Seris loved so much...and for a second, he actually thought to himself, 'I should gather some for her.' before realizing that...

For the umpteenth time that night, he got up out of bed. Despite bloodshot eyes and tangled hair, he would not sleep; Seris claimed his dreams as if they were her own. But he would see her again, he reassured himself. They would be together again, and this time, he would not hesitate to sing along with her. They would even move to the open countryside with fresh air and beautiful trees, the too many dreams of Seris that Raven wasn't able to fulfill for her. And to call himself her lover!

Collapsing onto his work desk, he took out another sheet of paper and began to draw. His Seris...she always complained of the smog and crowds of the capitol of Velder, and how she wanted to "just leave all this place of corruption and misery and frolic in the woods like a woodland elf!"

And he would laugh and say, "Just wait, Seris. In time, we will. Just wait."

How he regretted saying that now.

He looked to the capsule. Only the most fundamental structures were forming still, because this—no, she—was different from Chung's CBS-011EVE. She was going to be a full human. She was going to be Seris.

_...and frolic in the woods like a woodland elf!_

With a wry smile, he tucked back his hair as he added a pair of long, graceful ears to the facial plans. Whatever she wanted, she was going to get it.

And he would her lovely voice again.

* * *

"Chief, just what are you up to?" Elsword, always the straightforward one, blocked the Commander's path directly with his arms and a stern, anxious look on his face.

"What do you mean?" He coughed, feeling tired and defensive. He had just returned from a meeting with the Velderan Council, where the topic of his remarriage had abruptly come up, and was just as quickly dismissed with aptly concealed emotion. All he cared about now, was to return to his dwelling so that he could work on her. Re-creating her. Bringing her back into his barren, dull life. "Surely you do not mean to endorse that old fool who suggested I remarry?"

"Raven, stop it! You know I'd never say that. But you're wasting away; when was the last time you looked yourself in a mirror? You barely go out anymore, and you shut yourself up in a room with memories that'll only make you break down even more. All of Seris's things are still at your place, aren't they? Or..." he lowered his voice so the other exiting scientists and members would not hear, "is it something to do with Chung's project—"

The Veteran Commander coughed again. "That's not a topic I care to talk about, Elsword, even with you. Now if you'll excuse me..." he trailed off as the redhead (despite him being a good foot smaller than he) yanked him by the collar and slammed him to a wall. The other scientists gaped in shock as they saw their most prominent scientist being manhandled by a common nobody, but as they came to restrain Elsword he yelled,

"Listen to yourself! What do you think you're doing? Every day you've been mourning Seris, shutting yourself up like a clam! You eat next to nothing, and at lunch you pick at your food like someone suspecting poison, your eyes are redder than my hair! You refuse all sorts of counseling and shut everyone else out, including us. Do you think this makes any of us happy? Do you think _Seris_ would be happy?"

Hearing the commotion, Chung rushed over, looking dismayed. Pushing past the onlookers, he laid a gentle hand on the seething redhead, saying, "That's enough, Elsword. Now's not the time..."

"Shut up!" His hands still clenched onto Raven's collar, he turned his wrath to the Trooper. "It's all your fault! Don'y you think I know what he's doing in his laboratory? It's your creation, Chung! You and your blasted creation! He's going to make another woman, another Seris! It's all you and your Project CBS—"

A sudden hush ensued as Elsword abruptly fell silent and slumped to the round. Raven, massaging his hand, slowly got off the wall, expression impassive. He turned to Chung, and said in a slightly apologetic tone, "I'm sorry, but if I let him ramble on, it would've been dangerous. Take him to the infirmary downstairs, I think I placed too much worry on everyone about my current condition." He looked around at the other scientists, their eyes lowering under his gaze. Most of them began to murmur and shuffle past.

A few darted glances at Elsword with awe, shock , and some respect for being so bold to confront Raven. No wonder he was called 'Infinity Sword', the redhead whose passion and determination had infinite boundaries and expressed them through his tongue which he wielded as sharp as any blade.

"Hyung...we've all been worried about you." The other remaining scientists nodded in unanimous agreement as Chung supported Elsword onto his back. "You're grieving, I understand, but...it's dangerous in letting it go unchecked. It's dangerous...to let the dead seem more real than the living. We want the best for you."

Raven looked at him. "Yes," he said huskily, "I know." But how could he tell them that he was haunted by the mere fragrance of her perfume, she who haunted his dreams, led him back to their past, breathed life into past memories of yesterday, and left at dawn, leaving him to wake alone with the renewed sting on her loss? He couldn't tell them that the one chance to retrieve his heart and soul lied in the very project Elsword and Chung would vehemently oppose; right now, all they had were their suspicions. He couldn't tell them that the only way to heal this wretched pain was to do exactly what he was doing right now.

"I will tell the superior commander that I will be working from home." He turned, the automatic glass doors opening immediately. "I will send my portion of work through my personal computers."

No one tried to stop him as he left.

* * *

_Ring ring ring ring!_

"Hello?" He answered, voice monotone. There shouldn't be anyone calling him; his work was done, he sent consolatory e-mails to Elsword, Chung, and Aisha that he would soon feel better and thanked them for their support...so who would be so impolite as to call him?

[Hi Raven! It's me.]

"Ara." His head rankled in irritation as he realized that it was his cousin. "Is there something you need?"

[Nah, just called to see how you were doing. Especially with you and Seris and all...]

"I am fine, thank you for your concern." He made to hang up.

[Wait! Are you—]

_Click._

No, he had no time for frivolities, not now. It had taken him weeks, but he had finally managed to complete his sketches. With all the necessary tools and equipments at hand, he made his way to the capsule. The Android files were modified, and the wires were all prepared. Now he had to start piecing them together. He picked up a piece of machinery, and began to scan the files into the surface. The data had to be perfectly imprinted...

And yes, the ears! When she was reborn, she would be an elf. Already he could hear her laughing in delight upon realizing that she was the creature that she had always wanted to be. The side structures would have to be reconstructed, but that was nothing. Quickly he pushed the wires through the tube, watching them as they latched onto the structure inside, inputting other basic data.

His hands and mind became busy, working furiously on every piece of technology. But unconsciously he began to hum a little tune. It wasn't much, just bits and pieces of songs that she had taught him. When he realized what he was doing, he let out his first, real laugh in who-knows-how-long. Giddy with excitement, he continued to sing with growing excitement.

_Oh, drive the dark away  
For weeping is of sorrow  
If things are wrong today,  
There's another day tomorrow._

_A miracle awaits me  
Its candlelight gleaming dear  
Soon its rays I shall clearly see  
Though it's dark, I have none to fear._

The blue liquid in the capsule frothed and bubbled.

The small brown box on the right-hand shelf remained still.

_Yes, you will be my miracle._

* * *

This chapter is quite short for my tastes...but it's been so long since I updated anything that I might as well just slap this up and see how you guys like it. Like I said: short, rushed, and of little quality, but time and skill are not on my side. Therefore, you'll have to make do with this untill I think of something better :)


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